Half years of forced solitude sharpened our imagination, encouraged us to be more attentive – look at everything around us and notice nature’s beauty and search for comfort when we are buried under a pile of work. These days, working online, with nostalgia and fondly, we are looking at the photos of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute – that looks surprisingly beautiful and attractive at any season. For more than a century, majestic spruces decorated the entrance to the first building. But all things come to an end, so now young elegant fir trees smile at travelers, every year getting stronger and more beautiful. And against their background, at the beginning of the driveway, almost lost among the tall emerald neighbor stands out a tree of respectable age - the Paradise Apple Tree (on the photo). It beheld so many stories and can reveal dozens of secrets of the University!
The tree, as in a fairy tale, is a delight for an eye from early spring to late autumn. In spring it wears a snow-white robe, striking with lush blooms; tender aromas attract numerous pollinating insects, which do not miss the neighboring plants.
In autumn, every inch of branches is covered with bright bouquets of fruit apples sparkling in the sun even under the snow to the delight of local birds. In summer, toddlers play in the shade of a sprawling crown, in the evening the apple tree gives rest to older people, and in autumn, as far as you can get, despite the openwork fence, all passersby can get an apple. Along with ginkgo biloba, the apple tree is probably one of the most popular trees in the park. According to scientists, by the way, nine out of ten fruit trees on Earth are apple trees.
Experts define this apple variety as “Chinese golden”. Its fruits growing together in inflorescences resemble cherries; ripen earlier than other summer cultivated varieties of apples. Apples are light yellow, weighing 30-40g, with a pleasant aroma, but unsuitable for storage. Apples are juicy, dense, and of yellowish color. Speaking of vitamins and microelements, this fruit is superior to many known cultivars, improves the digestive system, and increases appetite. And the Royal Paradise Apple Jam made of malus pumila paradisiaca will give a head start on appearance and taste against many berries.The original ancestor of Paradise Apple tree is a low apple tree (malus pumila), which grows in Southern European and Central Asian countries. The easily grown plant is not frost tender giving abundant annual flowering and fruiting. The “Chinese” variety is also popular among landscape designers due to its high decorative qualities. Recently, in the cities, along with the alleys of sakura, alleys of paradise apple trees began to appear - magical and useful.
Head of the laboratory of selection and technology of growing fruit crops of the Institute of Horticulture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (IH NAAS), Candidate of Agricultural Sciences Yulia Khodakivska agrees that Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has a glamorous ornamental apple tree. She says, ‘Up to 10 species of apple trees are cultivated in gardens and parks of Ukraine; they are ingenious and charmingly attractive in a way, they perfectly tolerate urban conditions, so they are ideal for boulevards, squares, and cozy streets. Small fruit is a good wildlife food source, especially for birds in winter.’